AGENTS suing former Toon striker Obafemi Martins over alleged unpaid fees did “significant” amounts of work for him, London’s High Court has heard.

Martins, 25, left Nigeria’s training camp at the African Cup of Nations earlier this week in order to give evidence at the trial at London’s High Court.

On Thursday and Friday, he gave evidence to Judge Richard Seymour QC about his dispute with London-based NVA Management Ltd.

The centre forward’s lawyers say he has been “taken advantage of” by NVA.

But in written legal arguments, barrister Robert-Jan Temmink, for NVA, hit back at Martins, claiming that his case was “littered with unsupported aspersions and insinuations”.

And Mr Temmink claimed that Martins had a “propensity for failing to pay his professional advisers for the work they do for him”.

He added the evidence in the case demonstrated that NVA had carried out “substantial work” for Martins on what it understood to be “completely agreed terms”.

Mr Temmink said: “The day-to-day management of finances and the ‘real life’ of players appears to have taken place orally and often on a cash basis in a variety of jurisdictions, staggering as that may seem to lawyers reviewing those arrangements with the benefit of hindsight.”

Judge Seymour was told by Mr Temmink NVA was instructed in May 2007 by a member of Martins’ “entourage” to start working on a variety of projects, including brand building and collecting money for sponsorship deals.

The consultancy firm alleges that Martins owes it £181,797, as well as 11,750 Euros, after signing an agreement with Mr Martins in July 2007.

In a written statement of case supplied to the court, it was claimed that Martins agreed to pay £299,167 in return for NVA dealing with negotiations concerning his image rights with Newcastle.

NVA, which has instructed the Queen’s solicitors, Harbottle and Lewis, says it later concluded a deal on Martins’ behalf with the Magpies.

It also alleges that Martins owes it money in relation to unpaid commissions, including work with leading brands Peak Milk, Nike and Pepsi.

Martins’ lawyers say he has already paid NVA a total of £306,612.15.

Earlier in the case, the judge was told that Martins was constantly broke despite being on £75,000 a week in wages.

The player’s money management was so poor, the court heard, he was “constantly overdrawn” and relied on his agent as a Jeeves-type character to chase around after him.